Hoping to bring cricket to the forefront

Tuesday

Depending on your background, you either identify that word as a bug that makes a funny noise at night (or after a bad joke) or as a sport.

Those that view cricket as an athletic endeavor, recognize it as one the world’s oldest, first recorded in south-east England in the 16th century.

Lexington resident Vivek Gupta is doing his best to make sure the latter definition is first and foremost in everyone’s mind these days.

Gupta is working hard to promote cricket to young athletes not only in Lexington, but throughout Massachusetts.

This week, Gupta will be distributing Cricket Kits to elementary and middle schools in Lexington. The kits, sponsored by Alliance Tire Group (ATG), have all of the basic equipment for cricket and will hopefully be used in physical education courses at these area schools.

Last week, Gupta delivered a similar kit to a school in Newton and he has hopes of spreading the word to many other communities in the coming weeks and months.

It’s an important time for Gupta as the Lexington Cricket League (LCL) begins its season this weekend.

The Lexington league is for athletes ages 6 to 18 and no prior experience is necessary to sign up. Gupta says what is needed, however, is a willingness to learn and have a heck of a lot of fun.

"There are no [cricket] programs for children," he said. "There is so much potential."

When Gupta grew up in India, cricket was part of the culture.

"All the kids would naturally play cricket," he said. "I was a typical kid. I would come home, dump my school bag and go out and play [cricket]."

While Gupta admits that cricket is popular with mostly Indian members of local communities, he’s hoping to change all that.

"It’s not an Indian sport, it should become a mainstream sport," he said. "We’re hoping to reach a wider audience."

The sport, particularly for youths, has all of the makings of a popular activity. While traditional cricket for adults has up to 11 players on each side, the youth game involves only six players. Participation, action and offense are of paramount importance.

The times Gupta has introduced cricket to new players in Massachusetts have been memorable, like when he went to Boston Latin High School and literally had to pull the equipment away from the players.

"Every kid has 12 pitches thrown at them," he said. "It’s a run-scoring game. That’s what makes this game really exciting."

Gupta has been helping with the LCL for three years now. He’d love to see a youth league in every town and he someday hopes to have enough interest to send a Massachusetts team to national tournaments that are held each summer for various age groups ranging from under-10 to under-18. He has plans to eventually accommodate winter cricket by using local gymnasiums as well.

Lexington High School currently has a cricket club that Gupta is also anxious to work with.

"We are getting organized," said Gupta.

For more information about cricket or to request a packet for a local school or community, call 617-615-6504 or email contact@lexcricket.org. Lexington’s spring clinics are still accepting registrations at https://youthcricket.eventbrite.com. The organization also has a Facebook page at LexingtonCricketLeague.